Is it possible for an alter to be Autistic?

Hello, my name is Rain. Some of you know me, but for those who do not, I am considered to be a caretaker, of sorts, for our system. One of our newest "discoveries", an alter named Shay, is showing many characteristics of Autism. I know it is illogical to jump to conclusions, so I am not believing anything for certain yet. In an attempt to understand her and become more able to help her, I recently posted in the Autism Forum. I do not believe for certain that she is Autistic yet, as I said, but I thought that I could at least try to understand her seemingly Autistic characteristics more, which would help me to help her, essentially. However, this leaves me to wonder, is it possible to have an alter who is Autistic when the host and/or other alters are not Autistic? To me, it is logical to think that in order for an alter to be Autistic, either the core or the host, or at least another alter, would have to be Autistic as well. But this is not the case in our system (or if it is, I have yet to notice/become aware of it). I know that we always say "anything is possible with DID", but with something such as Autism, I have to question if it truly is possible.

In case anyone is interested in reading, I have posted a list of characteristics I've noticed/learned about Shay below. Any feedback, advice, opinions, and input of any kind is, of course, greatly appreciated. Thank you.

~Rain

Characteristics of Shay:
(Firstly, for those of you who do not know, Shay is mute. Or at least, she has never talked/made verbal noises and does not seem to be able to, though she could also simply not know how).

--She does not like to be touched. On what we call "good days", she is more accepting of it if it is slow and gentle (such as a hug), and does not last too long. But every time she is touched, her eyes widen, her breath quickens, and she seems to be anxious. On "bad days", she will flinch, hiss, click her tongue rapidly, fling her arms about, and even run away if she is touched.

--She will not make eye contact with anyone. If she does notice you are talking to her, she will look in your direction, but her eyes will stay either at your feet or in an area near you. She never looks above the chest-level of a person unless forced (such as someone repeatedly telling her to look at them). But even then, she will not meet your eyes. She'll stare at your chin or nose.

--She does not seem to hear well. If someone is saying her name, it may take 3-4 times before she seems to hear it and acknowledges it. Even then, the acknowledgement may not last and you may have to repeat yourself and/or get her attention again.

--She absolutely hates change. If anything is changed, such as the time we take a shower or eat a meal, even if we leave the house at a different time, she becomes extremely stressed out and tends to throw fits. Often she will refuse to adapt to the change and will force us/me to stick to whatever schedule she is used to (which can cause us to be late often for things).

--She does not seem to understand language well, or humor. She mainly communicates using song lyrics; whatever song lyrics that she thinks are most appropriate for the situation. She sometimes uses sign language, though she only knows the alphabet, but she doesn't seem to like to. Unless they're from song lyrics, she has a hard time thinking of words and creating sentences herself. She can write, but when she does it is either song lyrics, or she will sign what she's writing letter by letter as she writes it. She does not seem to understand humor, either. She thinks that people who are being sarcastic or who say something in a joking manner are being serious, and that can be difficult for her at times. Another thing- she does not seem to grasp the fact that the letters on the keyboard of the computer are the same letters she writes by hand. Thus, she does not know how to type, and will usually use a copy&paste method to communicate, usually with song lyrics.

--She is extremely sensitive to light. Daylight, without much cloud cover, tends to hurt her eyes. She will also hiss and cover her eyes if she sees bright lights (such as car headlights on a dark road. No, she does not drive). However, she is not as sensitive to sound, it seems. In fact, her music is often very loud. Though she seems to be extra sensitive to some sounds, such as a high-pitched dog whining/yapping, and will cover her ears while hissing/clicking her tongue.

--She does not seem very social. Though she does not seem to mind things such as online communication with people, she does not seem to like being around people in-person very much or for very long, nor does she seem to want to be around people. One person she can adapt to, though she likes her space, and she will basically ignore that person and act as if they're not there (unless they try to communicate with her). If she's around more than one person, however, she seems to get uncomfortable, especially if she's in the same area as them (such as the living room versus the dining room). If more than one person is attempting to communicate with her, it seems to overload her and she will "freak out" and either hide in a hoodie, run away, or go sit in a corner with her hands over her face.

--She is extremely attached to hoodies, pens, shoes, and plastic bottles. She loves wearing hoodies, even if it is too hot, she will wrap one around her waist. She will never go anywhere without a hoodie, and even has one next to her while sleeping. Pens she loves because she can write with them if needed and she likes to chew on the ends of them, as well as "rub" the pen between her lips. She will rarely take off her shoes and prefers wearing them at all times when she's awake. She loves plastic bottles, and not just for the fact that they can hold water/other liquids for her to drink. She loves chewing on the "mouth" of the plastic bottle, and if it is full of cold liquid, she will run her lips up and down the sides of the bottle, even rolling the bottle onto her cheeks at times.

--She never says "me" when she refers to herself. She always says "I", and she will get the words "me" and "you" mixed up when referring to other people. (Such as, "Why me do that?" when she means "Why do you do that?").

That is all I can think of for now.

Autism is diagnosed according to behavior, and although it's theorized to be genetic and neurological, there are no objective brain scans used to diagnose it. So if an alter has consistently demonstrated autistic behavior from a young age, he or she could be considered to be autistic. DID throws a monkey wrench into a lot of psychological theories, so professional opinions are likely to vary widely.

I have a few alters who I suspect to be autistic. We're all a little strange, neurologically, but one in particular seems to have Asperger's Syndrome. Another seems to be schizoid.

I have that too...exactly that. My doctors said it's schizophrenia but it's actually DID

I have indeed heard of people having just one alter who is autistic. Just like having alters who are mute, deaf, have adhd etc - there's a reason for it, albseit one that you might not see right now, and it's there. I can't back my claims more than this, but she does seem to display autistic tendencies, and I'm glad to hear you're doing your best to support her the ways she is I personally have, amongst other things, worked with autistic children. It's very rewarding, and I hope you end up feeling that way as well as her at some point.

Warmest wishes!

To give you a small list, in my system there are:
- 3 personalities with Asperger Syndrome (Jeff, Sammy and Demi)
- 1 personality with Autism (Amber)
- 1 personality with selective mutism (amber)
- 2 personalities with Borderline (Destiny and Aiko)

Every behaviour has their roots in the brain, just like all the memories and thoughts of the alters. If you'd ask if a personality can have autisme, I'd say sure, because autism is just a way of living and behaving. If you'd ask if a personality can have autism on neurological level, I'd say probably, because in theory it is most likely possible.


Claire

Personally, I have Tourette's Syndrome and autism. The Tourette's is not much of an issue for me, and the autism is fairly mild - mostly to deal with occasional stimming, how I interact with things, how I think.

With my younger alter(s?), it becomes FAR more intense. Jenny/Abby have severe Tourette's, to the point where on occasion their bodies are incapable of staying still because they're constantly jerking and twitching and moving, and the autism is far more obvious. Abby, for instance, can't understand what people are feeling, is unable to decipher facial expressions. They both tend to stim (pacing, rocking, or rubbing their faces on things (usually a pillow) often.

I'm not sure where my point was; I was merely sharing my experience.

-Edward/Unicorn

I would think that if a system member can have different allergies (ours do) then they can have autism and such...? It's all chemical and neurological. I am certain that neurological pathways can change/shift in ways science might not explain yet. Same for body chemicals/reactions.

I have an autistic person in my family and to me Shay seems autistic too. I already like her. Good that she can communicate by writing song lyrics. Have you tried to sing to/with her? If music is something she can accept (just a guess, since she uses lyrics to communicate), she might understand humoristic songs and music, and the kind of music where there are different instruments that "communicate" with each other. Rhythm and music could be a great help in communication and also in situations where you need to calm her down.
This is one of the best things I've seen on autism, maybe you've seen it before but I bet not everyone has:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNZVV4Ciccg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm0OGJwoYmg

I greatly appreciate all of your replies, so thank you. They were quite reassuring and comforting to me. Though I must admit, I find myself slightly embarrassed at the fact that I seemed to have overlooked how if things such as different allergies are possible within different alters, then different disorders and other such things may be possible as well.

Alethezeia/Edward: Thank you for sharing your experiences, they helped me to realize that things such as different disorders, or even different intensities of said disorders, may be like how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is in our system. Some alters have triggers that will cause flashbacks and other such things, while other alters (such as myself) do not. I do not know why I did not think of this possible example before to explain Shay's possible Autism, but then again, the most obvious answers often need an outsider's point of view to help point them out.

Under ice: Shay is mute, so singing with her is not really possible. I have not considered singing to her, though, so thank you for that suggestion. Her main way of communication and interaction in our "inner world" is her MP3 player that she carries around, always hooked up to high-quality, yet portable and small, speakers. She plays whatever song(s), or part(s) of a song(s), she believes is appropriate depending on the situation, what she is trying to convey, how she feels, what is happening around her, etc. I had not thought of exploring musical humor with her, but now that you have suggested it, I will certainly give it a try.
I cannot thank you enough for those video links. Watching Carly was very similar to watching Shay (minus the verbal sounds), and it certainly helped me to understand her and what she is experiencing better.

~Rain

I have come to notice a few more characteristics of Shay, and I thought I would share them. I believe that the more is shared about her, the more comfortable she feels about things such as being "out", interacting with others here, and even being herself. I think she fears such things because she does not wish to "surprise" people, as it were. If someone already knows what her behaviour is like, then there is less risk of possibly receiving negative reactions. (I hope that makes sense).

--She needs to be moving constantly, whether it is a tapping of the foot, a "bouncing" of the leg, rocking back and forth, rocking side to side, shifting her weight from one foot to the other while standing, pacing, etc. No matter what it is, or how little it may be, constant movement seems to be needed. (This may explain why we would not be able to stop fidgeting when asked or when appropriate to a situation for a good part of our life. Now that I reminisce, it seems to have suddenly happened overnight that we were able to sit still and did not have the need to fidget. With her now in our awareness, and usually "up front" even if she is not "out", our need to fidget has returned, and our ability to sit/stand still has dwindled considerably).

--In order to focus on typing instead of using her copy&paste technique with words and song lyrics, she has a need for a pattern. So far this pattern has been rocking back and forth while typing. She rocks forward to hit a key, then must rock backward before rocking forward again and hitting another key. Thus, the process goes: rock forward, hit key, rock backward, rock forward, hit key, rock backward, rock forward, hit key, etc. until she has finished typing what she wishes to type.

--When distressed, she will often hit herself in the head repeatedly, sometimes for continuous periods up to an hour or more. The hits are not full-strength, and are more like strong "taps", so they do not cause any bruising, bumps, or any such damage. When we were younger, I recall us hitting ourselves in the head with objects (such as an empty water bottle, a plastic bat, a book, etc). It was never enough to cause lasting damage, though sometimes it would begin to hurt slightly, and we would often be told to stop, usually having our object taken away, once we were "caught" by someone/an adult. I remember we not only found the sound of our head being hit (that unmistakable "bonk, bonk, bonk") interesting and amusing, but we also found it strangely comforting and never saw anything "wrong" with our actions.

--She feels her hands/arms need to "flail" in certain ways when distressed, and there are periods where she can do nothing but "flail" them in such ways. The movement is mainly in the wrists, and it is a sort of "flapping" motion made by her hands repeatedly as they either face each other, intersect with each other, or face away from her and "flap" forward. This needed movement usually lasts anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds, and can become very intense depending on how bad the need is to move them in such ways. With extremely intense "episodes", she will close her eyes and will not be able to do anything but "flap" her hands as quickly and as hard as she is able to. Sometimes the movement will be accompanied by her "whisper scream".

--The arm that "flails" the most and that she seems to "fight" with the most is her left arm. Her right arm seems to rarely have the same intensity of tics as the left arm does, and sometimes it does not have them at all, despite her left arm experiencing tics. Even when the right arm experiences tics, it does not seem to last nearly as long as the left arm's tics can, and she seems to have better control in general over the right hand/arm.

--Depending on how bad her tics are, she is able to control them by using another calming method of her's. Instead of holding a cold, plastic bottle full of liquid (usually a cold water bottle), with only her right hand, she will "smack" it into her left hand, forcing her left hand to hold the bottle as well. Then, with both hands holding the bottle, she will "roll" the bottle up and down her cheeks and lips, usually while rocking back and forth. I have seen her do this in what looked to be a "last-ditch" effort to stop her left arm from moving so much, as it had begun to get sore and even cramp.

I believe that is all I had to add for now.

~Rain